Candlesticks
by Aria Breuer
Summary: Gondor is in peril. There have been ten murders in a week, all committed with a candlestick. When Frodo Baggins enters a bar at Minas Tirith, he hardly expects to see his friend Samwise Gamgee, when Sam's wife Rosie is missing. What happened to her? Can Frodo solve the mystery, before the candlestick killer strikes again?


**Disclaimers:** I do not own _The Lord of the Rings_. J.R.R. Tolkien does.

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Here is another fanfic inspired by my Plot Generator Summaries. Enjoy. :)

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Frodo Baggins sat at the bar table, inside the local tavern at Minas Tirith. He'd seen enough and heard enough to know when there was danger present… or so he thought. He looked around for someone to talk to, but so far, he ran out of luck. It was just as well. He might head back to his house and make preparations to leave Gondor.

Ah! There was his brown-haired hobbit friend, Samwise Gamgee, coming this way! Frodo chirped, upon seeing his friend. "Sam, it's so good to see you!" He waited until Sam joined him, before asking questions. "Sam, how are things back home?"

"Word has it there's a mysterious candlestick killer on the loose," Sam said, serious.

"Gosh! That's terrible!" Frodo cried in defeat. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Well, to add, Rosie's gone missin'," Sam said, solemnly.

"That's awful," Frodo said, pitying his friend.

"Yes," Sam shook his head. "She'll turn up. I'm sure she will!"

"Sam, take all the time you need." Frodo looked away, sipping his drink. He felt eyes on him, staring him down as if they were waiting to kill him. Well, he couldn't have that! He spun around, hoping to see his friend in a good mood.

Well, Sam was, but so was Rosie, who appeared by his side, carrying a candlestick. Frodo glanced up at the candlestick, thinking she was going to whack him with it. The candlestick was loaded, ready to use –Frodo ducked out of the way, just as Rosie smashed the table!

"What is wrong with you?" Frodo protested, startled out of his wits. He turned to Sam, hoping that he would have sense knocked into him. "Sam, talk some sense into her! She's your wife!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Frodo," Sam took the candlestick from Rosie's hand, charging instead at his best friend, "but I have to do this! Yaah!" He crashed into Frodo, ready to attack him. Frodo bested him, pulling him around, and grabbing the candlestick out from his hand. Just before either hobbit got the better of themselves, Frodo snapped the candlestick in two – like it was nothing! How odd!

"How—" Frodo was punched in the face by Sam, who darted out of the tavern, taking Rosie with him. Frodo stood up, declaring in vain, "Yeah, keep running! I'll have a long talk with you before the night is out!"

"Oh, I wouldn't count on that," a familiar, masculine voice broke through Frodo's train of thought. Frodo spun around, only to be encountered by a dark-robed figure – that looked like him? The dark figure cackled in delight, repairing the candlestick in Frodo's hand. "There's only one way this can end. Kill me and this will be over!"

"No! I can't! I won't!" Frodo said, bravely. He tossed the candlestick away, allowing it to smash some bottles. "I'm not a killer!"

His dark self wagged a finger at him. "Pity. I had expected such high hopes for my adversary."

"What do you want?" Frodo asked the fiend, not liking where this was headed.

"I want you to think for a moment! We're in here together. You and me!" His dark self proclaimed. "Surely, you can see that. If fate had chosen differently, you would be no different than me. You would be no different than Gollum! Instead, you're weak, pathetic, unable to cope with the hard facts! You would choose to let a murderer go?" He shook his head. "What are you anyway? You're _nothing_ without me!"

"Yes, I did let Sam go," Frodo admitted to his dark self. "I did that alright. But let me tell you something: it is better to show mercy, even to those we hate, then to pretend that evil doesn't exist. Because that would make us no different than our evil selves."

"Well done, Frodo," his dark self said, softly, "you passed. Now go. Live your life! It's all we've got!" He walked away, fading into the shadows.

Frodo looked on, wondering what just happened. "Where is Sam? Sam! Sam and Rosie!" He joined them, finding they knew nothing about the candlestick killer. He sighed, realizing it was just a test. Nothing more.

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Thanks for reading. :)


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